WHAT WAS CLAIMED
Burkina Faso's leader has announced free education for all, including university.
OUR VERDICT
False. Captain Ibrahim Traore has made no such announcement.
AAP FACTCHECK - Pacific Islands social media users are sharing fake news stories glorifying a Russian-backed African military ruler.
AAP FactCheck found no evidence to support the tales, which an expert says are linked to Russia.
Burkina Faso's military leader, Captain Ibrahim Traore, took power in a 2022 coup before pushing out French troops and turning to Russia for help fighting jihadist insurgencies.
Posts claiming Capt Traore has announced various new schemes, including free university education, have been shared by social media users in Tuvalu and Papua New Guinea.
"President Ibrahim Traore has officially abolished ALL SCHOOL FEES, declaring FREE education for all students from PRIMARY SCHOOL through UNIVERSITY in a landmark move to transform the country's educational system", a Facebook post reads.
However, a search on the Presidence de Faso official website and the president's Facebook page, as well as the Ministry for Education website, for an announcement abolishing school fees at all levels yielded no results.
AAP FactCheck could not find any credible reports that the military ruler had unveiled such a policy.
Public primary and secondary education is typically tuition-free in the country, according to the HALI Access Network (page 3), a non-profit association increasing access to higher education in Africa. But there's no evidence this applies to university.
The same claim has also been debunked by African fact-checking outlets Dubawa, Irohin Odua and News Verifier Africa.
Another Facebook post, by a user who appears to be based in PNG, features an image of Capt Traore waving at crowds from a tank, stating that he'd announced a new salary for all senior citizens.
Text overlaying the picture reads: "BREAKING NEWS! Ibrahim Traore has announced that old people who are 70 years and above will start earning a token on a monthly salary."
Searching through the president's website and recent reports from credible news outlets again produced no evidence that he had made such an announcement.
African outlet Afrocover debunked a similar claim that Capt Traore had exempted elderly people from paying electricity and water bills.
Another Facebook post by a PNG user claims Capt Traore "has just pulled off one of the boldest economic moves in African history — launching a $1.1 billion oil project that has left the West stunned," according to the video's caption.
Again, there's no evidence any such oil project has been launched, and a YouTube video featuring the same claim includes a disclaimer in the caption that the story is "fictional" and "intended for entertainment, educational and inspirational purposes only".
The video itself appears to have been generated or manipulated by artificial intelligence (AI), indicated by voices with incorrect intonation typical of AI, and multiple scenes flipped horizontally.
Several Facebook posts by PNG users claim Capt Traore turned down an invitation to visit the US.
"My duty is to my people, not diplomatic ceremonies," one image posted reads, along with the user's caption, "Who's interest is our good Prime Minister of PNG serving?"
However, a search found no record of such an invitation on the Burkinabe presidential website or the White House website.
African fact-checking outlet Dubawa also debunked the claim that he had declined the White House's invitation to President Trump's inauguration.
Dr Fitriani, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said there was evidence that Kremlin-affiliated media, such as African Initiative, have amplified the fake news posts.
One TikTok account that labels its posts about Traore "#PaidPartnerships" has also posted pro-Putin content, she said, suggesting "ideological alignment".
"The strategic motive aligns with Russia's broader goal of disrupting Western influence in the global south by promoting anti-colonial narratives and exploiting grievances," she told AAP FactCheck.
"Traore's story offers an ideal symbolic vehicle for this effort, especially in regions with unresolved colonial histories and perceived dependency on Western powers."
Dr Fitriani said the posts depicting Capt Traore as incorruptible and uncompromising appeal to long-standing concerns in the Pacific over foreign exploitation, resource extraction and loss of sovereignty.
The purpose of the posts, she said, is to foster connection with figures seen to resist colonial power, helping create resentment towards traditional Western partners such as Australia and the US, and to enable alternative powers to present as champions of "authentic sovereignty".
This "weakens trust in traditional Western-aligned institutions and introduces divisive narratives into Pacific political discourse", Dr Fitriani explained.
Users in Pacific states such as Fiji and Vanuatu, she added, have also shared similar posts with captions such as "perhaps our government can learn from him" and emotionally compelling content portraying Traore as a revolutionary icon.
"The narrative's spread is driven by admiration or aspiration," Dr Fitriani said.
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